Empirical Labs EL8-XS Distressor with British Mode and Image Link - Stereo Pair Reviews

I have wanted a Distressor for years. FINALLY I was able to pull the trigger on a stereo pair with British Mode.

I cannot believe how incredible these are, even beyond my expectations. This is one of those pieces of gear that, if you work with it long enough to know it like the back of your hand, you will never need anything else ever again. It has the flexibility to take you anywhere you need to go. 100% versatile, great character, and perfectly tuned to anything you need to dial in.

They're perfect, and I envision myself in 20 years with an entire wall of Distressor pairs. My wife is going to hate it. The only reason I even try to keep making money is to buy more Distressors, otherwise... what's the point? I could honestly and truthfully envision myself using a Distressor on every track, buss, and even final mix buss in the mixing process across the board.

On my vocal chains, I often like to run the classic 1176 > LA-*A (or vice versa, depending on what sounds better) chain using either my Warm Audio knock-offs or the UAD plugins. The first thing I did when I got these was to try and emulate this sound by running a vocal track through the first Distressor as I would an 1176, and then into the second Distressor in OPTO mode to take the place of an LA-*A style opto compressor. Not only did it work, it sounded even better (to my ears). Again, this is between hardware Distressors vs. software UA plugins or lower end version of the UA hardware, but still. I discovered it to be a wonderful application for a pair of Distressors.

Otherwise, this pair has been a go to on drum busses, and only recently I started using them on my master mix buss with incredible results.

British Mode is nice for drum busses, or anything where you might need an "all buttons in" 1176 characteristic. Very nice option to have for tonal flexibility, and I have found myself using it ever so often (about as much as I used "all buttons in" - more than never, but not even close to routinely). For the very slight increase in price, I'd say it's well worth it to have the option and I don't think I'll be skimping on the British Mode option for future Distressor purchases.

The Distressor also shines on bass. The distortion modes and the HP filter really lends itself to bass, but I could sing it's praises for every single independent application. After spending some time with these, they've really shown their true colors as TRULY versatile, never-need-anything-else-ever-again compressors.

Do not be alarmed if you open the hatch to a dark and shadowy underground cellar to find me malnourished and decrepit surrounded by 48 stereo pairs of Distressors, glancing fleetingly only when the initial outside light gleams onto the nape of my neck. If this happens, you've simply found me living my best, distressed life.

As an audio guy, there are certain things you constantly beat your head over. One of them was trying to "reigning in" the drums, or heavy transient material, to sit in the mix. Certain transients poke out. Using eq, compressor, or limiter on the drum buss something else pokes out. Its like putting your finger on a hole of a leaking bucket: you plug up one hole to get another leak somewhere else. You just want it in "right place" without losing any detail, and without sounding compressed.

So if you want a "set it and forget it", versatile stereo buss compressor with some grit and attitude, and that immediately puts the drums, bass, whatever, in the "right place" - this is your stereo pair. 6:1 ratio, brit mode, dist 2, etc Works on transient material par excellence, which is why Brauer has this pair as his Buss B. This is now one of the most critical tools in my hybrid setup, and perhaps this is where one should start, if considering a first stereo compressor.